I think the wife knows best!

Surprised to hear you saying that the Disco is useless off-road.

I thought you bought it after being in your mate's Disco and it out-performed your Frontera ...
or am I thinking about somebody else?

Talking to Stuart Folley over the weekend, he suggested that if we look at a TD5 rather than a TDi then only consider the 5 seater and not a 7 seater. He lost me a bit on the technical side, but it was something to do with the difference suspension on the 7 seaters that are much worse (more complex?) than the 5 seaters. Not something I would have ever know to consider. Trouble is, there are virtually no decent 5 seaters near where I'm based

No Tom wasn't me, when ever I've been out with the frontera with discos in the group it's always been a disco who's got stuck first.
Now I'm not saying a modded one may not cope better but I was advised "stick mud tyres on it and it will be fine " not in my experience.

On the 5 vs 7 seat TD5 the 5 has coils on the rear and the 7 has air, if you convert to coil springs on a 7 seater you will invalidate your insurance unless you remove the rear front facing seats and inform the insurance company even then some companies won't insure you.

I would say the air is a much better ride and has the ability to be raised 2" also the S.L.A.B.S system allows for much flatter cornering, now I know earlier RRC and the P38 has a bad reputation for suspension issues but hopefully all the problem have been sorted by 2004

1st time I took the terracan out I thought it was rubbish off road. Gave it a few months, learned how the vehicle worked found what rpm it liked best to crawl over stuff, best off road vehicle Ive ever had, very capable.
Give it time.

SafariDude wrote:

Really liking this ... bit out of my budget though


here

Its not a bad vehicle. But that is a disturbing amount of money.
An example, in 2009 I bought my terracan that was an 04 with 30,000 miles for £6,995.
Buy with ur brain, you can get better for half that price.

Good hunting tho.

True, price is a bit steep - I'm ideally looking at half that at most, but I do want to make sure what I get is a top notch base vehicle .... then I can add all my own bling

Is the Hyundai Terracan really an alternative overland vehicle to say a Disco, Defender or Cruiser? I always had the impression that a Hyundai, Pajero etc were good big strong road cars with off-road ability, but if used for long periods on corrugated tracks etc then they would shake to bits as the build isn't as rugged.

Also, I assume as they are newer cars they would have ECUs and loads of electrics - so how would this impact overlanding / expedition travel if they go wrong. Do 'bush' mechanics have the know how to fix these? We always read that even a TD5 is risky due to the ECU and so look for a 300 TDi, so what do peeps think of the other marques and their ECUs / electrics?

Land Rover wiring and electronics are atrocious and are built to a low quality and they have a great many problems with them, the Japanese vehicles such as Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Toyota are much better in this respect, and have a reputation for electrical and electronic reliability, and many of the newer Korean marques had lots of issues with early generation models and improved them massively as they introduced newer generations; but this is generally.

To a large extent the bush mechanics are all but done as all vehicles are now using electronics they have adapted and bought readers to identify faults, or rely on experience and knowledge of the marque and their problems.

The korean and Japanese built quality is very high and their parts are also high quality.
As for your concern about the vehicles failing under tough driving conditions Its unlikely they will so long as their well maintained.
If the roads and terrain is bad then lower your driving speed.
If you will encounter a lot of poor conditions like the corrugated roads especially if your carrying equipment or towing then installing updated suspension would be beneficial. The updated spring will hold more weight and when your vehicle is laden they will maintain your ride height. Updated dampers will make a real difference, controlling suspension movement and neutralizing the bumps of the roads.
Ive never on any trip damaged or shaken apart my vehicles. You just alter your driving to the conditions.

Regarding the Terracan as a choice for overland travel it's a great choice. Main highlights are the Torque, levels of traction, fuel effeciency and comfort, load space is good as well.
It's not a UK mainstream popular vehicle.
But go anywhere cold and you'll find Terracan Teratory.
In America Jeeps are ££££ and everywhere.
In the UK Land Rovers are ££££ and everywhere.
In Afria, Australia, South Africa its Toyota, Nissan, Mitsubishi and there ££££ in those regions, just like Terracans, Daewoo musso, ssangyong rexton in places like IceLand, Sweeden, Russia especially.

All of these are good Overland Vehicle brands, it depends on what you want, if you want to belong to a certain crowd or your just crazy about a certain type.

My advice is make a list of 10 4x4's then test drive each of them, taking note what you like and don't.

I like defenders 110 but it doesn't come with an automatic transmission.
I like 80 series and cruisers, but it has horrific fuel consumption.
These two are considered the best off road.
But the Terracan does come with an auto box and does return good fuel consumption. See where I'm coming from?
You'll find YOUR truck in the end.

Jas

I've been a land rover driver for almost all my driving life...from series landies thru to a new Defender.
I'd still buy another one but a couple of things to consider

they are NOT dustproof
they all leak...be ready for water on your right foot and over both drivers and passengers shoulders after & during rain

IMHO Defenders are GREAT looking things but Discos are far more comfortable.

When I look at our next touring vehicle, the choices will probs be between Defender and Nissan Patrol. Defender will likely win if we can get a TDi....just love them

My heart always says Landie, but the common sense side says Cruiser. Saying that though, we had some quotes for how much we would be given for our current motor (Kia Sportage) and it would pain me to get rid of such a nice car for such little money - so for now we are going to keep the Sportage.

We have nearly all the camping kit we need and for most place we want to go at the moment the Kia should be fine I think. Bought a couple of chairs and a table yesterday, plus a 'hook up' cable. I needed the guy in the camping shop to explain what it was though and how to use it Oh, and we bought a small barbie that we I christened today with chicken drumsticks

Just need a roof box now for the Oz Tent. Seen some big old Thule ones that should do - that will be from next month's salary